Block ice-cream slicer



Dec. 1, 1953 ox 2,660,962

BLOCK ICE-CREAM SLICER Filed May 25, 1951 6 4 Sheets-Sheet l IN V EN TOR.

Dec. 1, 1953 R. H. BLOXHAM BLOCK ICE-CREAM SLICER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 23, 1951 72 I ll IN V EN TOR.

@WLQWMM Dec. 1, 1953 H VBL OXHAM v 2,660,962

BLOCK ICE-CREAM SLICER v Filed May 23, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR.

WW ELMMA Patented Dec. 1, 1953 I UNITED UFFFLCFE "51 The present invention relates to improvements in block ice cream'slic'ers and has'ror its main object-and purpose to "provide anfffi- 'cient and hygienic method of cutting an ice from 31 to '23 times-horizontallyto" make either '64 or 43 slices. By using the old"method of cutting these ice cream blocks, .founpeop'l'ewere needed to cut 4 blocks "per hour; place'the slices of io'etcream between -cookies 'in"the"'manner .of

asanclwi'ch, and bagth'em. Withf'm'y'n'ew meth- 0d of cutting these ice'cream"'blocks'it is possible to accomplish "three to 'four "times 'that"m1'1ch, or approximately l2to l5blocks.,per"hour which includes the .placing of'th'e ;'cookies and bagging.

This, of "course, allows a much smaller 'pro'duction'co'st.

Another advantage which allows a saving'fisith'e accuracy ofthisnew'machine. Byib'eing accurate, "and through the use ofDry Ice.very"1itt1e meitedsections.

Another important improvement, provided Tb'y my'new invention, having a bearing on sales, is tha't'the ice cream sandwiches have a much better appearance, The -slices are uniform, and i do not'havea chanceto melt beforeheingfilaced in the cooler, and since thecookies are not subjected to soft'ice cream they remain cris and fresh.

fFrom va health standpoint this machine has 3 definitely improved conditions under which these ice cream sandwiches are made. The ice cream does not come in contact with human hands at "any time, nor does it touch any part of the machine with the exception of a Monel metal orstainless steel traywhich lifts "the cut slices individually away from the ice creamblock. tray is easily kept" sterilized.

This new block ice cream.. slicer canbe manufactured 'at'a much lowercost than any machines erence characters throughout the ,severalvi'ews:

Figure lisa planyiew'of'my new invention as embodied in a block'ice creamslicer.

l igure z isaa side levation taken' in the=diree- 'tion ofarro'w '2 in F-igure 1.

*FigureB-is a 's'ide 'levation=taken-inthe direct-ion o'f arrow 3 in F-igure1. I V Figure 4 i sa2vertical section taken at 4-4 Figure '3.

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken at 5- 5 in 'Fig-ure 3.

jFig-ure G is a -vertical seetion taken at lifi in Figure Figure 7 *isa vertical -'s'ection'*'ta ken at F-W *Fig ure' '3.

I ii'gure 8 "is a' -vertical section"taken 'at fi t -'in Figure 3.

Figure 9 is a' fragMentaPy view -cif =the longi- 'tudinalratchet showing more clearly the ratchet and pawlassembly. r

This new invent-i'on isfieSigned to perform-four "distincv'functions. One: The ice cream moi-lid or g block is moved longitudinally the proper tiis tance to "allow the cutter Eto make the desired thicknessof cut. Two :"The 'cutter blade iscause'd to "cut the block of ice "cream at the proper time. *Ifhree': Thes'lice'sarelifted away from the loss results from improperly sliced (sections 'or Made when-nut. '-'Four: 'The cookies are raised to alevl within the' holders to allow them to be reached with'ease atalltimes.

-Ail 'of these functions are *accom lishe'd through 'the applicationof cams (Jr-eccentrics on the shaft which runs "longitudinally within --the machine.

The frame H cons'ist's *of "angle "or 'bar iron welded 'together. Various parts "of the mechanism are attached thereto "and to indicate that the *frame'is "used. in each instance the numeral "H "win -be *usedthroughout-"with the addition of one --letter"of the alphabet "each separate "instanceto"more cleai'lyde'fine the particular part ofthe frame.

Block ice cream is made, as stated above, to allowfrom '24"to 32 Slices in a 'doubie row. Only oneadjustmentis needed to "change the-number o l-slices. Since "theTat'chet controls the 'number of slicesmaile per *block a difierent longitudinal ratchet-Wouldhave"to"be'used'when the number of italic-es isth'anged. 'When-irozen, theblo'c'k of ice cream is "fcover'ed on '-'-all "sides with paper. Before placing one of these :tblocks in the emingmachinethe-side, topand QneJendpaper are removed, while fthe'b'ottom paper and one end paperwhich."abutsa 'pusheriiboard are left on the block. 'ltisth'en placed between vthe angle irons l' IA and "LLB (Fig. 51) withthe end having the paperres'ting against 'the pusher :b'oard f2.

'Between'rln'andl l'Bare'two flat irons "I 3 which run the full length of the frame, although they are shown broken away in Figure 1. The switch M, which is secured to upright member HM of frame l i as shown in Figures 3 and '7, is closed and electricity is thus allowed to reach the motor it through the wires it. Since the motor 15 has a greater speed than is desired, down-gearing is accomplished through the application of a pulley l? on the motor 15 and agear box It provided with two pulleys l5 and 26. Pulleys I! and i9 are connected by the pulley belt 2!, and pulley 29 is connected to a pulley 22, on the shaft 23, by pulley belt 26. This pulley belt 24! is loosely placed on the pulleys 22 and 2t, requiring the action of a roller 25 against the pulley belt 24 to tighten it sufficiently to allow the pulley 2i! and the pulley belt 24 to turn the pulley 22, and thus the shaft 23.

Referring more particularly to Figures 4 and '7, the tightening of the pulley belt 24 is accomplished through the application of the roller 25 which, as viewed in Figure 4, is pulled toward the left in the direction indicated by the arrow 25A. The roller 25 is attached to a hinged holder bar 26 which, in turn, is attached to a brake lever 27. As seen in Figure 4 this brake lever 2'! is provided with four attachments, the topmost attachment being a brake shoe 23 which causes the shaft 25 to remain stationary when the machine is not in operation. This shoe 28 acts against the pulley 22. Just below the brake shoe 28 is shown a partial view of a rod 29, as seen in Figure a. In Figures 1, 3 and '7 the rod 29 is shown pivoted to the angle iron I through the use of brackets 38. After leaving the bracket Bil on the right end of angle HC, as viewed in Fig. 3, the rod 29 angles outward where it is connected to a vertical rod 3! (Fig. '7). The vertical rod 3| is connected at its lower end to an operating lever 32, which is fulcruined at 33 to angle HD. The pressure of the foot on the lever 32 causes the rod 3! to be pulled downward thus causing the end of rod 25: to be moved in a downward manner. The rod 29 is caused to turn radially in the direction indicated by the arrow 29A seen in Figure 3. Through this radial movement of the rod 29, and the application of the brackets 36, the end of the rod is which is attached to the brake lever 2? is caused to move outward in the direction indicated by the arrow Zl'A seen in Figure 4. This outward movement of the rod 29 causes the brake lever all to also move outward causing the brake shoe 2% to re lease the pulley 22, and at the same time creating a tension against the pulley belt fitby the roller 25. The shaft 23 is thus caused to rotate. On the other hand, the release of the operating lever 32 causes the brake lever 2'! to again apply the brake shoe 28 to the pulley 22, the roller 25 releases the pulley belt 2 3, and the shaft 23 stops rotating.

The fourth attachment to the brake lever 21 is shown as consisting of an arm 28A to which is attached a wire 28B which passes over a roller bracket 23C thence downward where it is attached to a hinged arm 231). This arm 2810 is provided with another wire which carries a Weight 28F. These parts combined serve the purpose of holding the brake shoe 28 firmly against the pulley 22 until the operating lever 32 releases it. The outward movement of the brake lever 2i causes the wire 2813 to lift the arm 28D and thus the weight 23F. When the lever 32 is released the weight 28F causes the brake shoe 28 to again press against the pulley 22.

Thus it may be seen that the complete opcase may be.

eration of the machine is controlled by the opcrating lever 32 since it allows the shaft 23 to rotate and all the mechanical movements are controlled on the shaft 23.

After the ice cream block is placed between the angles HA and MB on the fiat irons it, it is caused to move in the direction indicated by the arrow [2A (Fig. 1) through the application of the pusher board l2. This pusher board [2 is provided with a pivoted pawl 34, seen more particularly in Figure 9, which falls against one of the teeth of the longitudinal ratchet 35 as it is pulled in the direction of the arrow RB (Fig. 1), through the action applied by the spring 35. Referring to Figures 2 and 6, the ratchet 35, which is slidably mounted in the ends of frame II, is then moved in the direction indicated by arrow I2A (Fig. 2) by a rod 31 pivotally attached (Fig. 1) to the ratchet and to an L-shaped 1ever 38 which is fulcrumed at point 39 of a bracket attached to angle HE. A cam 48 operating through the rotation of the shaft 23, previously explained, causes the bar lever il, hinged to angle NC, to be raised and lowered on its free end which, in turn, causes the end :32 of the le ver to be raised and the end 43 of lever 38 is then caused to move in the direction indicated by the arrow 12A. The attached rod 3? thus pulls the ratchet 35 in the direction indicated by arrow lZA which also causes the pusher board iii to move in the same direction through the operation of the pawl 3 In Figure 7 the cutter blade id is attached to an L-shaped arm 5.5 which is fulcrumed at lit to the angle HF. At point 4! a horizontal arm s9 is hingedly mounted to the arm .5 at one end and at the other end to a wheel it] used as an eccentric, by use of a bearing 5E. The wheel is caused to rotate through the rotation of the shaft 23 to which it is attached, and the bearing end of the arm 58 rotates around the hub of the wheel i9 causing the arm 8 to move backward and forward horizontally, thus causing the blade 64% to ascend or descend, as the The vertical cutter blade 52 is attached to the bars HG, and performs the longitudinal cut of the ice cream block. To prevent accidents, a plate 51 is provided and attached to the frame by welding or similar means to act as a shield for the cutter blade.

When the cutter blade at has made one out, two slices of ice cream rest momentarily on a lifter pan 53, the raised position being shown in dashed lines in Figure 3. The slices of ice cream tend to adhere to the pan 53 with the result that they remain in an upright position. As the pan 53 is raised, the operation to be explained as we proceed, it is very easy to pick up two cookies, place them simultaneously on either side of each ice cream slice, and place the com-- pleted sandwich on a tray or table close by. Thus two people, one on each side of the lifter pan 53, may easily complete the sandwiches before the next slices are ready.

The operation of the lifter pan 53 may be more clearly seen in Figures 2 and 4. A cam 54 attached to the shaft 23, causes the lever 55, hinged at 56, to lift the lever 51. A rod 58 is attached at one end to the lever 57 and at the other end (Fig. 2) to a bracket 59 which is, in turn attached to the lifter pan 53. The action of the cam 54 lifting the lever 55 and thereby the lever 51, causes the rod 58 to pull the bracket 59 thus causing the hinged lifter pan 53 to be raised as shown with dash lines in Figure 3.

In Figures 1, 3, 5, and 8, is shown the mecha nism governing the operation of each lifting device for the cookies. A frame 60 is provided to enclose the cookies which are placed on a tray 6| which is attached to two horizontal bars 62 (Fig. 2) which pass on either side of a vertical rod 53. This vertical rod 63 is attached to bar HH at the bottom, and NJ at the top. These bars 62 move vertically along the rod 63 through the attachment of a metal wire 64 which passes upward and over a roller 65 and thence to a shaft 66 (Fig. 7) where it is attached. In Figures 3 and 7, a ratchet wheel 6'1 is attached to one end of the shaft 65. Two pawls 68 and B9 are used. The pawl 68 is pivotally attached to a handle '29 and is used to turn the ratchet wheel 61. Pawl 69, which has a curved end to en age the teeth of ratchet 67, is pivoted on frame angle HM and is used to retard the ratchet 61. The handle 19 is pivotally attached to the shaft 66, and this handle or lever 10 is in turn attached to a rod l! which is attached at its other end to a lever 12. The lever 12 (Fig. 5) is hingedly attached at I3 to angle I I0 and is provided with a roller M. A lever '15 hingedly attached to angle 1 iK is caused to lift upward on its free end through the action of a cam 16 attached to the shaft 23. The lifting of the lever causes the roller 14 to be pushed upward thus causing the rod ii to be pulled. The handle 19 is thus pulled, and causes the pawl 68 to turn the ratchet wheel 69. When the lever 15 is again lowered, the handle 19 is allowed to resume its upright position through the push of the rod H against it, The pawl 69 serves the purpose of stopping the movement of the ratchet wheel 61, and thus the rod 66.

It should be understood that the cams and eccentric are timed to function at the proper time. The block of ice cream must first be moved, then out, then lifted away from the cutter blade individually as the slices are cut, and the cakes must be kept near or at the top of the frame 60. This is all accomplished through the timed action of all the cams and eccentric.

When the tray or pan 53 is raised upward, the frame 53A, whereupon pan 53 normally rests, stays in the position shown in Figure 3. The pan 53 is provided with a sharp edge on its free side next to the cutter blade 44. A rod 11 attached by brackets 18 to the angle H B is for the purpose of causing the free end of the tray or pan 53 to be placed in the proper position to allow the sharp edge to out the bottom paper away from the ice cream block. This is accomplished by pushing the rod l! toward the pan 53 where the end of the rod 11 enters between the frame 53A and the pan 53 causing the latter to assume the proper position. It is necessary to do this only before the first slice is out from each block, because after the paper is started between the frame 53A and the pan 53 it will continue to move forward as the block moves, and will emerge at point 533 (Fig. 3). The cutter blade is in position so as to not out the paper.

A box 19 is provided to be placed over the top of the slicing machine on the angles I IA and I 13 (Fig. 1). This box 19 (Figs. 2 and 4) is provided with two spaces 80 in which Dry Ice is placed to assist in keeping the ice cream from melting. Two shield bars 8| prevent the Dry Ice from coming into contact with the ice cream blocks. A 11d 82 and knob 83 are provided to allow access 3 within the box for placement of the Dry Ice. The box 19 is not attached to the slicing machine but is merely placed thereon, and the Dry Ice placed within the spaces 89. The ice cream blocks may be placed on the machine without the removal of the box 19, or the box may be placed over the ice cream after it has been placed on the machine. The lid 82 is kept closed during operation to allow the Dry Ice to assist in keeping the ice cream from melting.

While I have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to me at the present time, I desire it to be understood that I reserve the right to make alterations and changes insofar as such alterations and changes are covered by the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ice cream slicing machine consisting of an angle iron and bar iron frame, a shaft mounted upon the frame, a series of cams and an eccentric mounted on the shaft, motive means attached to the frame to provide movement for the shaft, a longitudinal ratchet controlled by one of the said cams for moving the ice cream block, a movable cutter controlled by said ec centric for slicing the ice cream block horizontally, a cutter attached to the said frame to make the longitudinal slicing of the ice cream block, a lifter tray controlled by a second of said cams for lifting the individual slices away from the moveable cutter, a holder for cookies attached to the frame, and means controlled by the third of said cams for keeping a high level of cookies in the holder.

2. An automatic machine for cutting ice cream blocks into slices, said slices to be used with cookies to make ice cream sandwiches, said machine provided with a frame, a shaft mounted on said frame, an electric motor attached to the frame to supply power to the shaft, a reduction gear box, means connecting said motor to said gear box, driving means connecting said gear box to said shaft, means provided to control said shaft through the said driving means, cams and an eccentric attached to said shaft, a longitudinal ratchet operated by one of said cams, a pawl engaging said ratchet, said pawl attached to a pusher board mounted on the frame, said pusher board thereby moving the block of ice cream, a cutter blade controlled by said eccentric for cutting the ice cream blocks, a lifter tray controlled by another of said cams for lifting the individual slices away from the ice cream block when out by the cutters, a holder for said cookies attached to the frame, means controlled by a third of said cams for keeping the unused cookies at the top of said holder, and a box removably mounted on the top of said frame, said box provided with means whereby Dry Ice may be placed therein to keep the ice cream at a low temperature while being sliced.

RALPH H. BLOXHAM.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

